South America: Brazil & Argentina

I apologize for my photography lately... lots of blurry shots for some reason... maybe I was eager to eat and took the photos too fast...

There are lots of Brazilian restaurants in Chicago... steak places, but I've never been to one. A little out of my price range, and since meat isn't my life, I figure I can wait.

Vatapa

Sweat onion and a quarter each of red and green pepper (brunoise) until translucent. stir in tomatoes, salt, pepper and cook 2 minutes more. Pour in the clam juice, bay leaf, and scallions, and make a slurry with the coconut milk. Add to the pot. Bring to a simmer over med-high heat. Reduce and adjust consistency. Cook 10-15 min, stirring occasionally, until peppers are tender. just before service, add the scallions, scallops and monkfish and season with salt and pepper. cover and simmer 5-7 minutes, lifting cover twice to stir gently. Add the lime juice, dende (palm oil) and cilantro and simmer 2 minutes more. Ladle into large bowls and garnish with the toasted coconut and lime sections.

Churassco con Chimichurri salsa and Yucca Frita

Beef Flank Steak and plantain chips

Pat steak dry. Stir together salt, cumin, coriander, and pepper in a small bowl and rub mixture onto both sides of steak. Broil steak to desired doneness. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting.

Meanwhile, with motor running, add garlic to a food processor and finely chop. Add cilantro, parsley, distilled white vinegar, oil, cayenne, and salt, then pulse until herbs are finely chopped. Slice steak thinly on the bias and serve with sauce.

[we grilled the steak instead of broiling, and also chicken]

Chimichurri: 1/2 c chopped parsley, finely mince 3 cloves garlic, 1t oregano, 1t chili flakes, 1/2 lemon (juice), salt, black pepper, paprika, bay leaf, olive oil to thicken. Marinate one hour.

Feijoeda Completa

Soak dried black beans overnight. Drain and add ham hock and fresh water. Simmer until the beans are soft. Shred meat from hock. Reserve beans, water and meat.
Render bacon, remove when cooked.
Brown pork butt and andouille sausage in the bacon fat. Remove.
Sweat onion and garlic in the bacon fat, add tomatoes then bay leaf. Return all meats to the pot, simmer, in addition to beans, orange juice, and bean water to cover. Simmer for 1 hour to combine flavors.
Tastes good with braised collard greens.
Okay, so I did not help with this dish. Once I saw what a ham hock looked like, I could not bring myself to help. I didn't even taste it. It was just too much pork for me. Rico happily took my plate.

Lessons Learned:
Either meat is extremely popular in the majority of the world's cultures, or these are just the recipes I'm being exposed to through this program...